France’s Broadband Miracle

Readers here shouldn’t be surprised about the broadband miracle in France, for we have written about it again and again and again. But it is good to see the Wall Street Journal write about how France went from a laggard to a broadband leader, mostly because of a quasi-socialist government that pushed sharing of networks as a concept. You know the same concept that was supposed to take root after 1996 Telecom Act.

WSJ writes about Iliad, that has 1.1 million customers, and charges $36 a month for 81 TV channels, unlimited phone calls within France and to 14 countries, and a high-speed connection. And they are not alone. It is one aggressive market, and despite all the challenges, even France Telecom is doing well, mostly because it has adopted the “broadband mantra.” There are others, and you can get the complete lowdown on the France Page on the Broadband Wiki. [It also reminds me, if anyone can help me translate this, I can bring the numbers up to date.]